Kenneth Grant and the
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I happen to believe that Kenneth Grant, Outer Head of the Order of the
so-called "Typhonian O.T.O.", has as much authority as anyone to make
that claim. In order to demonstrate the truth of this assertion, I
must provide you, the reader, with a short history lesson, which
follows, set forth in more or less chronological order. Our story
begins in 1942, March the 14th to be exact, when Crowley wrote to
Karl Germer: "I shall appoint you my successor as O.H.O. but on
special terms. It is quite clear to me that a complete change in the structure
of the Order, and in its methods is necessary. The Secret is the basis,
and you must select the proper people." (1*) Crowley called Kenneth
Grant "a definite gift from the Gods" and on wrote in a Memorandum in his diary, 7th February 45: "Value of Grant: if I die or go to U.S.A., there must
be a trained man to take care of the English O.T.O.".
Detailed History of the various O.T.O. groups and Plan 93 From Outer Space. |  |
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From whence did Crowley's authority derive? In April, 1912, he was chartered Grandmaster (X°). Until 1914 and the outbreak of the War, only two lodges were operative in the United Kingdom: Crowley's and another headed by G.M Cowie who, like an L. Ron Hubbard, would later run off with the order's treasury. There can be no doubt, then, that Crowley remained supreme authority over the O.T.O. in England for the next several decades (although he was expelled from the O.T.O. by Theodor Reuss in 1921). Around 1945, Gerald Gardner, "our beloved Scire," the leader of many British witches, allegedly was chartered "to constitute a camp of the Ordo Templi Orientis, in the degree of Minerval," which document seemingly was signed by Crowley. (2*) Gardner, however, never found the time to run the camp, and it is said that this alone led to Germer's decision to allow Grant to work the first three degrees. In July 1951, Karl Germer wrote to Frederic Mellinger, saying, "If [the Swiss Hermann Joseph] Metzger would have had access to all of A.C.'S works in the way Grant has had I'd be inclined to see him [as] a parallel case. However — like Grant — there seems to be a lack of money." (3*) On January 18, 1952, Germer wrote to Grant, "If we want to get the O.T.O. properly going again, we need a competent leader, not only for England but for the whole world. It must be somebody who knows the thing inside out ... I have often thought that you might be chosen for the job." 
Germer himself refused to accept the duties of OHO since he believed that the Reuss O.T.O. had more authority than the Crowley O.T.O. (When the "spiritually founder" of the Order, Carl Kellner, a wealthy German industrialist and Mason, died in 1905, Theodore Reuss assumed leadership. His grant of authority to Crowley was limited to heading a subsidiary of the O.T.O. called the Mysteria Mystica Maxima.) In the early 'Fifties, Grant established contact with the German order of Fraternitas Saturni. These were Thelemites who worked according to strictly Masonic principles. Grant, in 1955, announced in a manifesto his discovery of a Sirius/Set "current," and, in April of that year, founded the New Isis Lodge in London. On page 6 of the document, he named Eugen Grosche, an old adversary of Germer's, as an associate. This infuriated Germer, who took "violent exception" to the reference. (4*) |
Grosche exacerbated the situation by publishing, in his own German
magazine, a short version of Grant's
manifesto. This so angered Germer that, on July 20, 1955, he penned a "Notification of Expulsion" that
excommunicated Grant and forbade Grosche from publishing any Crowley
writings. In England, a certain Noël Fitzgerald was appointed as
Germer's "personal representative" in matters of the O.T.O. for Great
Britain. (5*)
[From: Materialien Zum O.T.O.] During all of this time, a rival to Germer's authority oversaw a very successful "O.T.O." in Switzerland: Hermann J. Metzger, who seems to have been the thorn in the side of any OHO. He had a reputation for contentiousness that rivaled Marcelo Ramos Motta's, but Grant apparently managed to get along with him. Grant told me that during the 1950's he had "a pleasant correspondence with Herr Metzger." (6*) One of Crowley's two literary executors, John Symonds, wrote to Gerald Yorke in September of 1969 that he fully supported Grant's claim to be be OHO. (This was hardly surprising: the two men had collaborated in the editing and annotating of several Crowley works, including an edition of the "autohagiography" and Magick, which latter is regarded as Crowley's masterpiece.) Motta, in October of the same year, ignorant of Germer's letter of expulsion, expressed a willingness to acknowledge Grant as OHO. (7*) As late as 1976 the Grant members were writing in their magazine Sothis that "Karl J. Germer, having proved himself blind to the implication of Crowley's letter to him, failed to understand and accept when — soon after Crowley's death — Grant submitted his plans for change ... It remains to remind those who support the old-aeon concept of the O.T.O. (8*) that they have not produced — nor can they ever produce — the slightest evidence of a creative current in any of its forms." It should not be forgotten that the current "Caliph" (which means head of the Californian Agape Lodge, although this term is nowhere explained exactly), once was privy to Grant's writings via the Canadian publishers of his magazines, or that Michael Paul Bertiaux, leader of the Ordo Templi Orientis Antiqua, has let it be known that "I knew that K. Grant was the OHO." (9*) Grant has the same right as anyone else to claim himself OHO. Had Germer not expelled him, this would simply be without peradventure, and as it is, he is the only claimant personally expelled by a predecessor. On the level of creativity, Grant, exploiting the ideas of the F.S., Frater Achad, and M.P. Bertiaux, is definitely one of the spiritual heads of the O.T.O. It should be explained how a national head, or X° is either elected or appointed. Under Reuss there was an oath, a sort of Freemasonic ritual, with passwords, grips, and signs, and even a magic seal, carried out for the appointment of an X°. A question arises: Was Grant ever appointed head, or X° or does the highest-ranking member in a country automatically become X°? For that matter, if the expulsion of Grant by Germer cut the former off from a claim to be X°, did the mysterious Noël Fitzgerald assume that role at some point?
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Annotations by James M. Martin
"Caliph" William Breeze about Kenneth Grant's O.T.O. and the relation to the "Caliphate": The "caliphate" O.T.O. is a myth. As a fair reading of the "caliphate letters" from Crowley to McMurtry will show, McMurtry was the second Caliph, and Germer the first. ... An ironic truth is that Grant, until his expulsion in 1955, was a bona fide member of the "caliphate" O.T.O. — under Germer." [in: Abrasax IV;4, Texas 1992, 41] James M. Martin, editor of Abrasax renounced most of his spiritual organizations years before his death in 2015, becoming a rather militant atheist of the standard variety and focusing on his family. There's a set of his early diaries at the University of Southern California as part of the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives: http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt6b69r6ww/entire_text/ This article was scanned and converted to text by Stephen L***. Homepage: Maps and Magick
1904: Aiwass communicates the Book of the Law to Crowley in Cairo 1914: World War I 1915: Crowley attains Grade of Magus, first recording of Outer Ones from Yuggoth as cited in Wilgus' The Illuminoids 1924: Crowley claims Grade of Ipsissimus, Grant born 1926: Charles S. Jones (Achad, 1886-1950) receives the word of the Aeon (ALLALA = 93). The Call of Cthullu written by H.P. Lovecraft (Cthullu being Crowley's Tutulu of 1909?) 1939: WWII, first transmission of the outerhuman being S'lba received by Grant 1943: Grant 'receives' The Chronicles of Kr[alnia] 1944: Grant meets Crowley 1945: Atomic explosion. John W. Parsons meets L.Ron Hubbard 1946: Parsons' 'Babalon Working' (embodiment in human/quasi-human form of the spirit of Babalon) which causes Parsons to announce the transmission of a fourth chapter to Crowley's Liber AL. Grant initiated into the A.·. A.·. (Argenteum Astrum, Silver Star, Anuttara Amnaya), Grant's XI° confirmed 1947: Crowley dies. Beginning of the UFO age 1948: Achad announces the aeon of MA-ION (Maat). Grant recognised as IX° by Karl Germer. Grant meets Austin Osman Spare 1952: Spare and Grant found Zos Kia Cultus 1954: New Isis Lodge inaugurated, although not becoming operational until 1955 1955: Grant assumes the OHO after so-called 'expulsion' by Germer. New Isis Lodge enters into operation 1962: New Isis Lodge completed and reabsorbed into O.T.O., Germer dies 1969: Publication of Crowley's Confessions, co-edited with John Symonds: beginning of the thelemic re-vival worldwide 1972: First volume of Grant's books published 1974: Liber Pennae Praenumbra received by Sor.·.Nema The Typhonian O.T.O. functions as a cosmic network which does not operate through terrestrially based lodges, because its members are not — in a magical sense — centred on earth. Their zones of occult activity are located in spaces which both include and transcend astral levels of consciousness. The Typhonian O.T.O. is not, therefore, a corporate body in a mundane sense — it is controlled by inner-plane contacts focused today through a handful of individuals channelling currents outside the circles of time and space. Regarding Thelema, the Typhonian O.T.O. is considered to be the Machine, the A.·. A.·. as the Operator. There is no comparison to other O.T.O. versions, essentially because there are no group rituals or ceremonies of initiation at any stage of the degree structure. The basis of initiation is the assimilation of direct magical and mystical working. It follows that all initiation is in effect self-initiation. There is a small amount of set gradework in the Typhonian O.T.O. However, the emphasis is on the initiate charting his or her own course. There is of course the experience of others to draw upon. Kenneth Grant died on 15th January 2011. Read about Plan 93 From Outer Space This is an outline from the German "Das OTO-Phaenomen" (1994) and the English "O.T.O. Rituals and Sexmagick" (1999) Tradução portuguesa: Kenneth Grant e a O.T.O. Tifoniana КЕННЕТ ГРАНТ И ТИФОНИАНСКИЙ ОРДЕН ХРАМА ВОСТОКА To the main page about the Typhonian O.T.O. |
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